Players at the Shanghai Masters were made to play in unusual conditions.
Novak Djokovic will be significantly more rested than his next opponent in Shanghai (Image: Getty)
Organisers of the Shanghai Masters have been forced to scramble after rain wreaked havoc on the schedule.
Matches on outside courts were cancelled over the weekend, leaving several players forced to catch up. It means top players like Novak Djokovic benefit, getting extra days off after playing under the roof of the main stadium.
And with more weather issues on Monday, bosses took drastic measures to get them competing.
While they are still hoping there will be some play outdoors, players started to be moved onto indoor courts which are usually used for practice.
Roman Safullin’s match against Alexander Bublik was shunted to the Indoor A1 court while Jordan Thompson faced Tallon Griekspoor on Indoor A3. At least two other matches will be played inside, away from TV cameras and hoards of fans.
It comes after a washout weekend, which saw most outside play scrapped after players waited around to see if they could get on court.
The bottom half of the draw, which includes No. 4 seed Djokovic, was scheduled to play on Saturday.
While Djokovic got his match done, his next opponent will have a tough time. The Serb plays the winner of a second-round clash between Stan Wawrinka and Flavio Cobolli.
After they were originally meant to play two days ago, they now won’t start their match until Monday night as the last match on the stadium court. Whoever wins will likely have to come back less than 24 hours later with the tough task of facing Djokovic who will have an extra day of rest.
The Olympic champion is back in Shanghai for the first time since 2019. He survived a test against Alex Michelsen in his first match, coming through 7-6(3) 7-6(9).
If he does face Wawrinka, it will be their 28th meeting. Djokovic has a 21-6 record against the three-time Grand Slam champion. But if Cobolli comes through, it will be another first-time encounter for the world No. 4.
Djokovic had also never faced Michelsen before and later said: “I guess the older I’m getting, more new players I’m going to play, because they keep on coming up, which is normal part of the evolution of the sport.”